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^v*o^ 




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16—47372-3 GPO 



ADVANCE SHEETS 



UNITED STATES BUREAU OF EDUCATION 

CHAPTER FROM THE REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OP EDUCATION 

For 1906 



Chapter VI 



Public Education in British 

India 



WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 
1907 



CHAPTER VI. 
PUBLIC EDUCATION IN BRITISH INDIA. 

[Vov previous articles on education in British India, see Commissioner's Report, 1882-83, pp. ccxxvi- 
viii; 1883-84, pp. ccxxxviii-xlvi; 1892-93, vol. 1, Cliap. VI, pp. 261-278; 1897-98, vol. 1, Chap. X, pp. 339- 
3.-.t; 1899-1900, vol. 1, Chap.I, pp. 1-43.] 



Topical outline— V.ducsLtion in British India: Lord Cur7.on on native conditions— Tentative efforts 
under British auspices to introduce modern learning— Government policy set forth by the Despatch 
of 1851— Progress since 1854- Unsatisfactory conditions disclosed by the third quinquennial report 
(1892-93 to 1896-97). The government resolution of 1904: Education and government service; 
abuise of examinations; primary education; secondary education; the education of girls; univer- 
sity and technical education; education of special classes— Statistical summ.aries, including 1904-5— 
Special efforts for the promotion of rural schools and teclmical education: report on rural schools 
of Central Provinces; State technical scholarshiijs for natives of India; schools of agriculture and 
forestry. 



Til'.' following account oi" education in India vdatt's only to British India — that is, 
to the territory governed by the King, through the governor-general of India, or through 
any officer subordinate to the governor-general. The remaining divisions of India 
are under native control, although subject in some measure to the British Government. 
If The territory covered by this account includes the six major provinces of Madras, 
Bombay, Bengal, the United Provinces (Agra and Oudh), the Punjab, and Burma; the 
five minor provinces of the Central Provinces, Assam, the northwest Frontier Province, 
Berar, and Coorg; and the native states of Bombay, tlie Central Provinces, and Orissa. 
The total area exceeds 1,000,000 square miles, and the total population numbers more 
than 240,000,000; nearly one-third of this poi^ulation l)elongs to the single province 
of Ben^gal. 

COXDITIOXS PRIOU TO THE BRITISK Ul'LE. 

The effort to introduce education of a modern European type into India is impres- 
sive, because of the enormous population to be dealt with — nearly 300,000,000 — and 
the venerable history and high development of the native civilizaticm and culture. 
'"The advent of British rule," says Lord Curzcm," ''found in India systems of educa- 
tion of great antiquity existing among both Hindus and Mohammedans, in each 
case closely bound up with their religious institutions. To give and to receive 
instruction was enjoined by the sacred books of the Brahmans, and one of the com- 
mentaries on the Rig Veda lays down in minute detail the routine to be followed 
in committing a text-book to memory. Schools of learning were formed in centers 
containing considei^able higl>caste populations, Avhere Pandits gave instruction in 
Sanskrit grammar, logic, philosophy, and law. For the lower classes, village schools 
were scattered over the country, in which a rudimentary education was given to the 
children of traders, petty landholders, and well-to-do cultivators. The higher 

"Indian Bducational Policy — A resolution issued by the governor-general in council, March 11, 
1904. 

I2;j 



124 -EDUCATION EEPORT, 1906. 

educalinn of Moli-immi'dans was in the hands of men of learning who devoted them- 
selves to the instruction of youth. Schools were attached to mosques and shrines 
and supported by state grants in cash or land or by private liberality. The course 
of study in a Mohammedan place of learning included grammar, rhetoric, logic, 
literature, jurisprudence, and science. Both systems, the Mohammedan no less 
than the Hindu, assigned a disproportionate importance to the training of the memory, 
and sought to develop the critical faculties of the mind, mainly l^y exercising their 
])upils in metaphysical -refinements and in fme-spun commentaries on the meaning 
(if the texts which they had learned by heart." 

EARLY EFFORTS TO INTRODUCE MODERN EDUC.VTION. 

Prior to 1854, in which year the English Government assumed the general charge oij 
education in India, schools of modern learning had been established by the govern- 
ment, by missionary enterprise, and by corporate or private agencies. These efforts 
showed different tendencies in different provinces. In the Bombay Presidency, 
for example, an excellent foundation for a public system of education had been laid 
tlu'ough the combined efforts of missionaries and private societies. These efforts 
were fa-st directed to the establishment of independent schools; gradually the need 
of united action and centralized control was recognized, with the result that a board 
of education was created, charged especially with the extension and management 
of elementary education. In Burma the missionary influence had been specially 
successful in exciting private efforts for the establishment of schools, which, however, 
.showed little tendency to combine in a general system. These early differences 
are reflected in the existing conditions in the several provinces, but they have not 
prevented such approach to a common system as facilitates the general direction 
of the separate systems and makes it possible to include them all in a comprehen- 
sive survey. 

THE GOVERNMENT DE.SPATCH OP 1854. 

The first comprehensive instructions with respect to educati )n in India issued 
by the English Government — the Despatch of 1854 — announced a general policy of 
which the principal features were: (1) The constitution of departments in the several 
provinces or presidencies for the administration of education; (2) the establishment 
(if universities at the presidency towns; (.3) the creation of training schools for teachers 
for all classes of schools; (4) the maintenance of the existing government colleges 
and high schools, and the increase of their number when necessary; (5) the estal)- 
lishment of new middle schools; (6) increased attention to vernacular schools, indig- 
enous or other, for elementary education, and (7) the introduction of a system of 
government grants in aid. 

The instructions followed the traditional policy of England in advising the largest 
freedom to local initiative, and insisting that government aid for education should 
supplement and be proportioned to the local expenditure. 

The importance of higher education was emphasized l)oth in deference to the spirit 
of tlie people and as a necessary means of preparing natives to enter in due propor- 
tion ui^on administrative and official careers. 

PROGRE.SS OF EDUCATION SINCE 1854. 

Tlie purpo.ses specified in tlie Despatch of 1854 have one and all l)oen reaffirmed in 
sub.sequent instructions, but with ever-increasing recognition of the fact that tlie 
chief concern of the government must be the maintenance of elementary schools. 

The conditions of the country and the tendencies of official action have, however, 
favored the development of higlun- education. The five universities, whose consti- 
tutions were modeled on that of London University, have controlled and unified the 
work of colleges by their examining and degree conferring powers, and the anticipated 



PUBLIC EDUCATION IX BRITISH IXDIA. 125 

advantages of a diploma have proved a powerful incentive to students. The work of 
the secondary schools, which prepare candidates for matriculation, has been deter- 
mined almost entirely by that purpose. Primary education, on the other hand, has 
had slow development, and has by no means met reasonable expectations. The com- 
mission appointed in 1882 to examine into the workings of the system exposed the 
.shortcomings in this respect, and made many recommendations for strengthening 
and extending this part of the educational provision. Their report gave a new im- 
pidse to the work, but progress has been very slow. The conditions disclosed by the 
third quinquennial report, « covering the period 1892-93 to 1896-97, were so unsatis- 
factory as to call forth a special "'resolution"' b from the Government relative to the 
glaring evils disclosed by the report. Chief among these evils were the inadequacy 
of the inspection staff; the diversion of public funds to the support of higher and sec- 
ondary education without due regard to local provision for these grades and to the neg- 
lect of primary education; the failure to give effect to the recommendation of the com- 
mission of 1882, which urged that in the upper classes of high schools there should be 
two divisions — one leading to the entrance examination of the universities, the other 
of a more practical character, intended to fit youths for commercial or other non- 
literary pursuits; and the failure to give adequate supjjort and extension to j^rimary 
education. 

The statistics of primary education were declared to be entirely unsatisfactory. 
They showed that the percentage of the male population of school-going age attending 
primary schools in 1897 was barely 18 (an increase of not quite 4 per cent in ten years). 
The figures for expenditure indicated disregard of the accepted attitude of the gov- 
ernment toward primary education. The increase in total expenditure had been 15 
per cent for the quinquennium; in colleges it was 14 per cont, in secondary schools IG, 
and in primary schools 15 per cent. 

The expenditure for education in 1896 was reported to be 3,52,44,900 rupees, or, 
estimated at the exchange value of a rupee at that date,<; about 3 cents per capita of 
the population. Local resources contributed 73 per cent of this amount, and of the 
total only 31.4 per cent went for primary education, while secondary schools absorbed 
32 per cent. 

In regard to the education of girls, progress had been exceedingly slow. "The pro- 
portion of girls in public institutions to girls of school-going age," as stated in the reso- 
lution, "was 1.58 (in 100) in 1886-87, 1.80 in 1891-92, and 2.10 in 1896-97." (^ 

The provision for training teachers was declared to be entirely inadequate, and it 
was urged that the tendency of the system of examinations seemed to favor cramming 
rather than sound educational work. The critical review of the situation, as pre- 
sented in Mr. Cotton's report, was followed by energetic efforts on the part of Lord 
Curzon's government to infuse new spirit and higher standards of administrative 
efficiency, as regards education, in all the British Provinces. As a means of increas- 
ing the official prestige of the work and promoting unity of purpose throughout the 
imperial dominion a new office was created — namely, that of director-genei^al of edu- 
cation, the first incumbent, Mr. W. H. Orange, entering upon the duties of the posi- 
tion in March 1902. 

THE GOVERNMENT RESOLUTION OF 1904. 

The convictions and purposes of the government, formed with fidl deliberation in 
view of the experience of the past and the new conditions which the spread of western 
ideas had developed throughout the Orient, were very fully set forth in the Resolu- 

a Progress of education in India, 1S92-93 to 1890-97. Third Quinquennial Re\-ie\v by J. S. Cotton, 
M. A. 

b Resolution dated October 28, 1S99. 

« The rupee, wliicli in 1897 was estimated at 19 cents, is now quoted at 32f cents. 

d Se« Third Quinquennial Report, pp. 31 and 181, and resolution of 1899 in supplement to the Gazette 
of India, November 4, 1899, pp. 1946, 1948. 



12G EDUCATION KEPOET, 1906. 

lion of March 1], 1904. « After a briof review of the progress of education in Britisli 
India the Resolution outlines the policy upon which the government had decided 
as a means of correcting existing evils and promoting gi-eater progress in the future. 
The main points of the document are here brioHy summarized: 

Education and gorcrnmcnt service. — The institution of special examinations for 
admission to government service is condemned. Such examinations, it is ui-ged, 
would necessarily be held in sul>jects differing from those prescribed by the univer- 
sity, and two distinct coiu'ses would thus exist side by side, only one of them leading 
to government service. If students attempted to compete in both lines th'; strain of 
excessive examination, already the subject of complaint, would be gi-eatly intensified; 
while, on the other hand, if the bulk of them Avere attracted by the prospect of obtain- 
ing government appointments the result would be the sacrifice of such intellectual 
iuiprovciDcnt as is achieved under the existing system. 

On the abuse of examinations in general the resolution says: 

Abuse of cra;?n'nrt/!'o?is.— Examinations, as now understood, are believed to have 
1x>en unknown as an instrument of general education in ancient India, nor do they 
figure prominently in the Despatch of 1854. In recent years they have grown to 
extravagant dimensions, and their influence has been allowed to dominate the whole 
system of education in India, with the result that instruction is confined within the 
rigid framework of prescribed courses, that all forms of training whicli do not admit 
of being tested by written examinations are liable to be neglected, and that both 
teachers and pupils are tempted to concentrate their energies not so much upon 
genuine study as upon the questions likely to be set by the examiners. These 
demoralizing tendencies have? been encouraged by the practice of assessing grants 
to aided schools upon the results shown by examination. This system, adopted in 
the first instance on the strength of English precedents, has now been finally con- 
demned in England, while exi)ericnce in India has proved that, to whatever grade 
of schools it is applied, it is disastrous in its influence on education and uncertain in 
its financial effects. It will now be replaced by more equitable tests of efficiency, 
depending on the number of scliolars in attendance, the buildings provided for their 
accommodation, the circumstances of the locality, the qualifications of the teachers, 
tlie nature of the instruction given, and the outlay from other sources, such as fees 
and private endowments or subscriptions. The educational codes of the various 
provinces are being revised so as to embody these important reforms and to relie>'e 
the schools and scholars from the heavy burden of recurring mechanical tests. In 
future there will be only two examinations preceding the university course. The 
first of these, the primary examination, will mark the completion of the lowest stage 
of insti'uction and will test the degree of proficiency attained in the highest class(>s 
of primary schools. But it will no longer be a pulilic examination held at ccntei's 
to which a number of scliools are summoned; it will be conducted by the inspecting 
oflif.'er in the school itself. The second examination will take place at the close of 
th(i secondary, usually an Anglo-vernacular course, and will record the educational 
attainments of all boys wlio have completed this course. In both stages of instructif)n 
special provisions will be made for the award of scholarships. 

In giving effect to this change of system, it will lie necessary to guard against i\w 
danger that the subordinate inspecting agency may misuse the increased discr(;tion 
intrusted to them. The principles upon which the grant to an aided school is to bo 
assessed must therefore be laid down Ijy each local government in terms sufficiently 
clear to guide the inspecting officer in his recommendations. Precautions must be 
taken against the abuse of authority or the perfunctory performance of the duties 
of inspection, and in those pi'ovinces where the application of standards of efficiency 
otlier than those afforded l)y written examinations is a novelty it will be incuml>ent 
upon the education department, liy conferences of inspecting officers and l)y other 
UK'ans, to secure a reasonable degree of uniformity in the standards imposed. 

Primary education is defined in the resolution as "the instruction of the ma-sses 
through the vernacular in such subjects as will l^est stimulate their intelligence and 
fit them for their position in life. * * * " 

Tlie subjects of primary instruction, so far as specified, are reading and vrriting (in 
the vernacular) and arithmetic. In ^iew of the success of kindergarten methods 

a Indian Educational Policy, Ijcing a resolution issued by the governor-general in council on the 11th 
of M.iroh 1904. 



PUBLIC EDUCATION IN r>RITISH INDIA. 12T 

and object lessons as employcKl in Madras and Bombay, the govfrnntcnt of India, it 
is declared, "look with favor upon the extension of stich te-aching, where competent 
teachers are available, as calculated to correct some of the inherent defects of the 
Indian intellect, to discourage exclusive reliance on. the meiaory, and to develop a 
capacity for reasoning from observed facts." Physical exercises should also, it is 
said, find a place in every primary school. 

The necessity of adapting the instruction in rural x>rimary schools to local condiLi<jns 
is specially urged upon the provincial authorities. Attention is called to the action 
of Bombay in prescribing a separate course of study for the rural schools and to the 
system of rural hyJf-time schools, which is working successfully in the Central Prov- 
inces. Tliese schools provide "simple courses of instruction in the mornings for the 
children of agriculturists, who work in the fields during the rest of the day." 

In this connection the resolution says: 

The aim of the rural schools should be, not to iiupart definite agricultviral tcacliing, 
but to give to the children a preliminary training which will make them intelligent 
cultivators, will train them to be observers, thinkers, and experimenters in however 
a humble manner, and will protect them in their business transactions with the land- 
lords to whom they pay rent and the grain dealers to whom they dispose of their crops. 
The reading Iwoks prescribcvd should l)e written in simple language, not in unfamiliar 
literary style, and should d<'al with topics associated with rural life. Tlie grammar 
taught should be elementary, and only native systems of aritlinietic should l)e used. 
The village map vshould Ije tlioroughly understood, and a most useful course of instruc- 
tion may be gi\-en in the accountant's papers, enabling every boy before leaving 
school to master the intricacies of the village accounts and to understand the demands 
that may be made upon the cultivator. The government of India regard it as a 
matter of the greatest iuaportance to provide a simple, suitable,^ and useful type of 
scliool for the a5;riculturist and to foster the demand for it among tlie population. 
This and other reforms in primary schools will involve some revision of the pay of 
primary teachers, wliich varies greatly, and in some provinces is too small to attract 
or to retain a satisfactory class of men. Thus, in Bengal the rates fall as low as 5 
rupees per month, while the average pay in the Bombay presidency rises to 17 and 18 
rupees. The matter has been under consideration, and improvenients will be made 
where they are most needed. 

Secondary education. — The growth of secondary instruction, which is one of the 
striking features of the history of education in India under English auspices, is attrib- 
uted in part to the eager desire of parents that tlieir sons shall be taught the English 
language. 

Complaint is made that the courees of study in secondary schools are too literary in 
character, but so far attempts to correct this defect have not been successful. The 
government of India, however, will not abandon this purpose. "In the present stage 
oi social and industrial development," says the resolution, "it appears to them essen- 
tial to promote diversified types of secondary education corresponding with varying 
needs of practical life. Their efforts in this direction will be seconded by that large 
body of influential opinion which has supported the recommendation of the univer- 
sities commission that the entrance examination should no longer be acceptetl as a 
qualifying test for government service." 

It is advised that instead of the university entrance examination a form of leaving 
examination be adopted for secondary schools, which woidd not dominate the courses 
of study but arise naturally out of them. Such examinations, it is urged, slroidd "be 
of a more searching character than the present entrance test, and the certificate given 
at their close would be evidence that the liolder had received a sound education in a 
recognized school, that he had borne a good character, and that he had really learnt 
what the school professed to have taught him. It would thus pos-sess a definite value, 
aiul would deserve recognition not only by the government an-d the universities, l)ut 
also l)y the large body of private employers who are in want of well-trained a^^sistants 
in their various lines of activity." 



128 EDUCATION REPORT, 1906. 

Education of girls. — ^Witli respect to the education of girls, wliicli is one of the most 
difliciilt problems the government of India encounters on account of the social cus- 
toms of the people, the resolution says in part: 

The measures which are now being taken for further advance include the estab- 
]isl\ment in important centers of model primary girls' schools, an increase in the num- 
ber of training schools, with more liberal assistance to those already in existence, and 
a strengthening of the staff of inspectresses. The direct action of government will 
])e exerted in cases where that of the municipalities and local boards does not suffice. 
Nearly one-half of the girls in pul)lic schools are in mixed boys'-girls' schools. Their 
attendance along with boys is often beneficial to them, especially in village schools, 
and nothing in the report of the commission of 1882 need be taken as indicating that 
such attendance ought to be discouraged. Great assistance is rendered to the cause 
of female education genera^lly by missionary effort, and in the higher grades especially 
by zenana teaching. The government of India desire that such teaching shall be 
encouraged by grants in aid. 

University and technical education.-. — Under the head of university education the 
government announces its purpose to attempt certain reforms in the constitution of 
those bodies Avith a view to increasing their administrative efficiency, and, further, 
to conferring upon them teaching functions and larger control of the colleges affiliated 
with them. 

The need of increased provision for the industrial and commercial training of the 
people is pointed out, and the importance of a comprehensive system of agi'icultural 
education as an essential factor in the development of the agi'icultural resources of 
the country. 

With respect to technical education the resolution, after brief reference to the 
engineering and science colleges in actual operation, Avhich are all doing valuable 
work, continues: 

The first call for fresh effort is now toward the development of Indian industries, 
and especially of those in which native capital may be invested. Technical instruc- 
tion directed to this object must rest iipon the basis of a preliminary general education 
of a simple and practical kind which should be clearly distinguished from the special 
teaching that is to be. based upon it and should, as a rule, be imparted in schools of 
the ordinary type. In fixing the aim of the technical schools the supply or expansion 
of the existing Indian markets is of superior importance to the creation of new export 
trades, and a clear line should be drawn between educational effort and commercial 
enterprise. As a step toward providing men qualified to take a leading part in the 
improvement of Indian industries, the government of India have determined to give 
assistance in the form of scholarships to selected students to enable them to pursue a 
course of technical education imder supervision in Eiu'ope or America. They hope 
that the technical schools of India may in time produce a regular supply of young men 
qualified to take advantage of such facilities, and that the good will and interest of 
the commercial community may be enlisted in the selection of industries to be studied, 
in finding the most suitable students for foreign training, and in turning their attain- 
ments to practical account upon their return to this country. The experience which 
has 1:)een gained in Japan and Siam of the results of sending young men abroad for 
study justifies the belief that the system will also be beneficial to Indian trade. 

Schools for special classes. — The education of Europeans and Eurasians in India is 
one of the most important problems with which the government has to deal. In 
order to increase the efficiency of the schools maintained for this small but important 
j)ortion of the population, it is announced that a single inspector in each of the prov- 
inces will henceforth be charged with their oversight. Similarly increased attention 
will be given to the special schools for the chiefs of the native states, which are 
maintained for the purpose of "fitting young chiefs and nobles physically, morally, 
and intellectually for the responsibilities that lie before them." 

This brief summary of the chief topics covered by the official r(\solution of 1904 
shows the comprehensive scheme of education which the Government seeks to foster 
in India, and indicates further the points at which more earnest effort is needed, and 
tlie prol)kMns (A special difficulty which have to be considered. 



PUBLIC EDUCATION IN BRITISH INDIA. 



129 



The decided stand taken by the general government in this important matter has 
apparently roused the local governments to greater activity in the same direction, but 
sufficient time has not yet elapsed for the accomplishment of any very marked improve-, 
ments in the educational systems. 

STATISTICAL SUMMARY, 1904-5. 

The chief facts with respect to attendance upon schools and higher institutions and 
the expenditure for education throughout this vast dominion are summarized in the 
following statistics from official sources. The fourth quinquennial review of educa- 
tion in India, covering the period 1897-98 to 1901-2,« was issued the same year as the 
resolution which has here been reviewed. It brought the statistical record to the 
close of 1901-2, for which year the total enrollment in schools and colleges of all classes 
was 4,521,893, of which number 4,077,185 were in institutions for boys and young men 
and 444,708 in schools for girls. 

The following is a summary of the official report on education in India for 1904-5 :& 
A comparison of the number under instruction in public and private institutions in 
1904-5 and the two preceding years indicates an advance to the highest number yet 
reached. 





1902-3. 


1903-4. 


1904-5. 




4,221,870 
472, 422 


4,368,569 
515, 644 


4, 476, 878 


Females 


560,568 





In the last decade the numbers have risen from 4,323,842 to 5,037,446, an increase of 
713,604, being at the rate of 16.5 per cent. The increase in male scholars was at the 
rate of 14.3 per cent, and the females increased by 37.3 jDer cent, the relative numbers 
of males and females being — 





1895-96. 


1899-1900. 


1904-5. 




3, 915, .537 
408, 305 


4,037,821 
425,914 


4, 476, 878 
560,568 


Females 





The proportion of females to males receiving instruction is now about 1 to 8, while 
at the beginning of the decade it was about 1 to 10. Not more than from 2 to 3 per 
cent of the girls advance beyond the primary stage of education. 

Classification of institutions . — Most of the scholars are taught in public institutions, 
which are classified as regards their administration as follows: 



Nimiber of pupils 
taught. 



1895-96. 



Under public management: 

Managed by government 101, 763 

Managed by local-fund boards and municipalities 967,728 

Maintained by native States 158, 493 

Under private management: 

Aided by govenxmont or by local-fund boards and municipalities 1,939,994 

Unaided " 5«9, 351 

Total 3, 717, 329 



125, 718 

1,141,559 

184, 283 

2, 423, 964 
509, 538 



4,385,062 



a Progress of Education in India, 1897-98 to 1901-2, Fourth Quinquemiial Review. 
6 Summary in manuscript of official report of education in India for 1904-5, forwarded by Mr. Wm. 
H. Michael, .American consul-general at Calcutta, to the State Department at Washington. 



ED 1906— VOL 1- 



-9 



130 



EDUCATION REPORT, 1906. 



The number in private institutions amounted in 1904-5 to only 652,384, which is 13 
per cent of the whole number under instruction, 87 per cent being taught in "public " 
institutions. About 73 per cent of the number under instruction are taught in schools 
managed or aided by the State or by local bodies — 48 per cent in aided schools, and 
about 25 per cent in schools directly managed by government or local bodies, mainly 
by the latter, for management by government is now quite a small feature in the 
educational system. 

The classification of educational institutions as regards the description of education 
imparted and the number of students in each class of institution is as follows: 



Students. 



1895-96. 



1904-5. 



University education: 
Arts colleges — 

English 

Oriental 

Professional colleges — 

Law 

Medicine 

Engineering 

Teaching 

Agriculture 

School education, general: 
Secondary schools — 

High schools 

Middle English schools 

Middle vernacular schools 

Primary schools 

School education, special: 

Schools for special instruction 



14,602 

486 

3,000 

997 

649 

59 

44 



200, 187 

162, 146 

173, 687 

3, 136, 407 

25,065 



18,948 
804 

3,228 

1,665 

998 

317 

1,53 



283, 487 

199, 061 

197,221 

3, 630, 155 

47,829 



Of the ])oys and girls in secondary and primary schools, amounting in number to 
4,309,924, the great majority — as many as 84.2 per cent — are to be found in the primary 
schools. The middle vernacular schools contain a smaller number of boys than either 
the high schools or the middle schools, but they are more frequented by girls than the 
schools of either of the other two classes. It seems that the boys who pursue their 
studies beyond the primary stage prefer to go to schools where English is taught, for the 
numbers attending the high schools and the middle English schools — especially the 
former — exceed the number in the middle vernacular schools. 

University education. — In university education the colleges which train for degrees 
in arts contain about three times the number of students who are attracted to the col- 
leges which train for special degrees. In these latter the students going through the 
course for a degree in law outnumber the students training for the attainment of degrees 
in all the other special courses combined. 

The number of university graduates was: 





1895-96. 


1604-5. 


Arts .... 


1,467 

259 

5 

7 

4 


1,559 


Law 


023 


Medicine 


13 


Engineering 


11 


Oriental languages and literature 


3 







In the last decennial period the universities have had 15,090 graduato\s in arts and 
4,509 in law, a total of 19,599 graduates in these two subjects. Contrasted witli this 
numlier we find that in the same period not more than 91 graduated in medicine and 
] 35 in engineering, one reason for these very small numbers being doubtless found in 



PUBLIC EDUCATION IN" BRITISH INDIA. 



131 



the fact that the possession of a degree in medicine or engineering does not l>y itself 
qualify for the higher grades of Government professional service without special 
training in England, nor does the mere possession of the degrees, without other guaran- 
tees of competence, command the confidence of the public. In oriental languages 
and literature — a degree conferred only by the Punjab University — there have been 
only 27 graduates in the ten years, while the same university conferred in the same 
period 1,352 degrees in arts. The University of Madras has had 4,965 and the Uni- 
versity of Calcutta 4,573 graduates in arts in this period, the two together accounting 
for about two-thirds of the M. A.'s and B. A.'s of India. 

During the same period 55,651 undergraduates were enrolled, of whom 42,258 were 
entered for the arts course. It seems therefore that in these ten years but 35.7 per cent 
of the undergraduates attained to the possession of degrees. 

Special instruction. — The schools for special instruction extend over a wide range 
of subjects. Training schools for school masters and mistresses enroll 6,838 and 
1,683 students, respectively, and the other special schools and the numbers attending 
them are: 





1895-96. 


1904-5. 


Art 


1,466 
383 
2,685 
1,303 
3,651 
10, 519 


1,460 




59 




3,201 




745 




5,737 


Other 


28, 106 







Stages of instruction. — The condition and stages of education of the boys and girls in 
public institutions on the 31st of March, 1905, are exhibited in the figures below: 



Girls 



Lower primary stage: 

Not reading printed books 
Reading printed books 

Upper primary stage 

Middle stage 

High stage (not matriculated) 



819,723 
2,263,816 
438, 156 
184, 548 
106, 388 



160, 564 

293, 122 

31,746 

9,816 

2,045 



Private institutions. — Besides the "public" colleges and schools to which reference 
is made in the preceding paragraphs, there are the "private" institutions, as follows, 
with the numbers under instruction: 



Advanced teaching: 

Arabic or Persian 

Sanskrit 

Other oriental classics 

Elementary teaching: 

A vernacular only or mainly 

The Koran 

Other private schools, not conforming to departmental standards 



38, 941 

29,947 

1,564 

333, 143 

183, 632 

9,286 



1904-5. 



39, 119 

21,761 

464 

373,648 
180,136 
37,256 



Private institutions apparently can not supply the demand for advanced education, 
but the number receiving elementary instruction in them has increased. 



132 



EDUCATION REPORT, 1906. 



Provincial progress. — T1k» tiguros below indicate the extent to which the people of 
each province sent their children to educational institutions in 1904-5, and the 
rati of the scholars to the population of the school-going age (which is taken at 15 
per cent of the total population): 




Bengal 

Madras 

Bombay 

United Provinces of Agra and Oudh 

Burma 

Punjab 

Central Provinces 

Assam 



1,694,157 
821,205 
566, 428 
476,577 
316,336 
245,756 
216,470 
102,019 



171,095 
150,037 
99,675 
25,812 

54,787 

29,207 

18,389 

6,109 



Total. 



Per cent of popula- 
! tion of school age. 





1896-97. 


1,865,252 


15.2 


971,242 


15.4 


666,103 


16.6 


502,389 


5.0 


371,123 


22.3 


274,963 


8.5 


234,859 


7.7 


108,128 


12.7 



16. 21 
10.95 
17.43 

7.02 
24. 36 

7.^0 
10.70 
11.77 



Burma takes the lead educationally, Bombay, Madras, and Bengal coming next in 
succession. The other provinces are still very backward, the United Provinces and 
the Punjab presenting the worst records. 

Races and creeds. — Turning to the classification of scholars by race or creed, the fol- 
lowing are the numbers as they stood on March 31, 1905: 

Europeans and Eurasians 31, 733 

Native Christians 163, 889 

Hindus: 

Brahmans 626, 665 

Non-Brahmans 2, 704, 045 

Mohammedans 1, 074, 430 

Buddhists 343, 756 

Parsis 17, 426 

Others 75, 502 

Female education. — The United Provinces stand lowest on the list as regards female 
education, as they do in regard to male instruction, the ratio of girls to boys under 
instruction being only as 1 to 18.5. In Bengal also the ratio is not high, being as 1 to 
9.9, though this is higher than the ratio in 1903-4 (1 to 10.7). In the Central Prov- 
inces it is about as 1 to 11.8; in the Punjab 1 to 8.4; in Burma 1 to 5.8; in Bombay 1 
to 5.7; and Madras stands highest with a ratio of 1 to 5.5. 

Until 1900-1901 the races or creeds of the scholars were not differentiated by sex, 
and therefore there were no means of ascertaining the relative proportion of female 
education in each community. The figures for 1904-5 indicate that the proportion 
of girls to boys is as follows; 

Europeans and Eurasians 1 to 1. 11 

Native Christians ' 1 to 1. 74 

Parsis 1 to 1 . 75 

Buddhists 1 to 6. m 

Mohammedans 1 to 9. 77 

Hindus 1 to 9. 1 

Brahmans 1 to 7 . 4 

Non-Brahmans 1 to 9. (i 

In Bengal, where the Mohammedans at school approximate to half the aggregate 
of the denomination at scliool in all British India, the number of girls to boys is dis- 
proportionately small, ))eing only as 1 to 14.48. 



PUBLIC EDUCATION IN BRITISH INDIA. 133 

Cost of education. — The expenditure on education bus steadily increased each year, 
amounting in 1904-5 to $16,054,984, being 27.58 per cent greater than the expenditure 
five years bfore, in 1899-1900. The direct expenditure on colleges and schools in 
1904-5 was $11,595,894, the difference between that sum and the total expenditure 
being classed as indirect expenditure on the universities — direction, inspection, 
scholarships, buildings, etc. The direct expenditure was thus divided: 

Arts colleges $990, 57J 

Professional colleges 465, 1 10 

Secondary schools 4, 548, 748 

Primary schools 4, 608, 165 

Training schools 312, 307 

Other si)ecial schools 610, 988 

The sources from v.diich the total expenditure was met were: 

Provincial revenues $4, 705, lu4 

Local funds 2, 553, 414 

Municipal funds 633, 230 

Fees 4, 719, 932 

All other sources 3, 433, 317 

The expenditure on education is met to the extent of 49 per cent from taxation (pn- 
vincial revenues and contributions from district boards and municipalities), aiul 
about 30 per cent is met from fees. 

Reformatory schools. — There are seven of these schools, with a population which at 
the end of 1904 numbered 1,127, compared with 1,168 at the end of the previous year. 
There were 245 admitted in the year, and 279 discharged. About 67 per cent of the 
boys are Hindus and 24 per cent Mohammedans, which proportions correspond closely 
with the proportions of Hindus and Mohammedans in the population of the country. 
Of the 1,127 remaining at the end of the year, 1,0.36 were illiterate, leaving only 91 as 
the number who were able to read. 

Of the Iwys discharged in the three years preceding 1904, 25.9 per cent were follow- 
ing occupations taught them in school, and of these agriculture engaged 13 per cent. 
The percentage of those following occupations not taught in the schools was 29.2. 
Of 8 per cent unsatisfactory reports were received, while 36 per cent were unemployed, 
were with friends, had died, or had disappeared from observation. 

The net expenditure on the schools was $45,196 in 1904, the average annual expendi- 
ture in the preceding five years having been $38,696. 

Two of the schools are in Bengal, and there is one each in Madras, Bombay, the 
United Provinces, the Central Provinces, and Burma. 

Printing presses and publications. — The number of registered presses increased in 
the ten years ending 1904-5 from 1,906 to 2,252, an increase of 18 per cent. 

The number of newspapers increased in the same period from 613 to 713, an increase 
of about 16 per cent. 

The number of periodical publications (other than newspapers) increased from 463 
to 747, an increase of about 61 per cent. 

The numbei? of books published in English, or in some other European language, 
increased from 1,124 to 1,321, being at the rate of 17 per cent. There has been slower 
progress in the pul)lication of books in the Indian languages, whether modern or 
classical, which increased by about 4 per cent, but their number (7,023), however, is 
still about five times as large as the number of books printed in English. 



134 



EDUCATION REPORT, 1906. 



The provincial distribution in 1904-5 of the productions of the printing press in the 
principal provinces is as follows: 



Burma 

Assam 

Bengal 

United provinces of Agra and Oudh 

Punjab 

Bombay 

Central Provinces 

Madras 



News- 


Period- 


English 


papers. 


icals. 


books. 


36 


52 


7 


12 


6 


1 


134 


140 


580 


99 


90 


172 


136 


62 


105 


158 


196 


ei 


15 

116 


3 

197 




391 



Indian 
books. 



139 

26 

2,516 

1,400 

1,380 

695 

34 



The fertility of the Bengal presses is noticeable as regards the production of books, 
whether printed in English or in the Indian languages, which greatly exceed in num- 
ber those produced in any other province. In the number of newspapers, however, 
Bombay stands first, followed by the Punjab. 

In the subjects of the books religion is conspicuously prominent, poetry and the 
drama taking second place, but a long way behind: 



Religion 

Poetry and the drama. 

Language 

Fiction 

History and biography 



1903. 


1904. 


1,990 


2,153 


1,403 


1,557 


972 


928 


392 


399 


306 


356 



Medicine 

Law 

Mathematics and mechanics 
Philosophy 



1903. 



309 
253 
220 
120 



325 
235 
197 
155 



The languages in which the books are written are extremely diverse, 
ing list states the number published in the principal languages: 



The foUow- 



Bengali 

English 

Urdu 

Urdu (roman characters) 

Hindi 

Gujarati.. 

Punjabi ; 

Sanskrit 

Marathi 

Tamil 



1903. 


1904. 


1,388 


1,537 


1,438 


1,355 


1,195 


1,186 


22 


3 


768 


959 


559 


496 


403 


459 


300 


371 


265 


351 


318 


336 



Telugu 

Uriya 

Pali-Burmese and Burmese 

Persian 

Sindhi 

Arabic 

Assamese 

Malayalam 

Kanarese 



1903. 



229 
225 
111 
74 
26 
87 
43 
39 
36 



233 
220 
113 
87 
69 
63 
54 
39 
31 



And smaller numbers in 23 other languages, besides 722 Inlingual, 54 trilingual 
and 5 polyglot books. 

The languages employed in the composition of bilingual publications are mainly 
Sanskrit, English, Arabic, Bengali, Urdu, and Hindi, Sanskrit being in most common 
use: 



English and Bengali 

Engli.sh and Urdu 

English and Urdu (roman char- 
actors) 

English and Sanskrit 

English and Gujarati 

English and Hindi 

Sanskrit and Bengali 



1903. 


1904. 


134 


131 


24 


20 


14 


13 


41 


33 


17 


15 


21 


20 


120 


140 



Sanskrit and Hindi... 
Sanskrit and Marathi 
Sanskrit and Gujarati 
Sanskrit and Uriya . . . 

Arabic and Uridu 

Arabic and Persian. . . 
Persian and Urdu 



1903. 



113 
15 
11 
26 

58 
22 
19 



1904. 



PUBLIC EDUCATION IN BRITISH INDIA. 135 

SPECIAL EFFORTS FOR THE PROMOTION OF RURAL SCHOOLS AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION. 

Wliile the foregoing statement presents a very complete summary of the educational 
provision in India, there are two features of the work not brought out in the summary 
which deserve further notice. These features are the rural schools and technical 
schools. The official reports make no distinction between rural and m-ban schools, 
but it is enough to recall the vast preponderance of the rural population and of agri- 
cultural pursuits to realize the importance of rural education as a distinct problem. 
According to the census of 1901, the urban population of British India was 29,244,221, 
or less than one-tenth of the total population of 294,361,056. More than half the pop- 
ulation (191,692,000) were at that date reported as living by agriculture, either as 
workers or as their immediate dependents. The frequent famines and the wide- 
spread misery which they entail furnish a sufficient motive for the great interest 
manifested by the government in the improvement of rural schools and the exten- 
sion of their courses of instruction to include notions of agricultural science and prac- 
tical methods of treating the soil and cultivating and harvesting crops. 

In pursuance of the purpose expressed in the resolution of 1904, competent special- 
ists have been appointed to make careful investigations of the actual state of education 
in different divisions of British India or in respect to certain parts of education 
which the government seeks to foster. The results of these investigations will be 
embodied in a series of special reports issued from the office of the director-general of 
education. The first report of the series relates to rural schools in the Central Prov- 
inces, the investigation in the case having been entrusted to Mr. H. Sharp, M. A., 
inspector of schools for the above-named provinces. This report combines, with a 
brief view of the system of education in this administrative division, an intimate 
view — a living picture, as it were— -of the rural schools to which it relates. The novel 
conditions here brought to view, and the vividness and sympathetic appreciation 
with which they are set forth, make this one of the most interesting reports ever pre- 
pared on an educational topic .« 

The report on rural schools.— The kind of school which the country child in India 
attends and the ceremonial respect paid to the English inspector by the village 
officials are gi-aphically described in the following extract from the report mentioned: 

The village. — Let us imagine ourselves to be approaching a typical village containing 
a typical school. The village consists of a straggling cluster of mud huts, irregularly 
grouped along a street, with outlying hamlets for the lower castes. It possesses from 
600 to 800 inhabitants. The majority of these are cultivators, and our approach is 
made between fields of young wheat and pulse. The school is primary and of the 
ordinary rural type, affording instruction to the children of the village in which it is 
situated and to such as care to walk a mile or two from surrounding hamlets. 

The school committee. — Our visit is expected, and some quarter of a mile from our 
destination we perceive a little group awaiting our arrival. This is the school com- 
mittee, composed of the village elders. The malguzar, or landlord of the village, 
steps forward to greet us and introduces the panch-log (committee) one by one. The 
tall gentleman of somewhat military aspect is the rajput proprietor of a neighboring 
village, which, having no school of its own, sends its children here; the stout member 
whose ears are encircled by two strings of gold plaques and whose bright yellow cap 
is set rather rakishly on whitening locks is the local bania, or merchant, whose duties 
in connection with the school are to teach the boys the mysteries of cashbook and 
ledger; he of the black garb and spare features is the village accountant or Patwari, 

a Occasional Reports, No. 1, Rural Schools in the Central Provinces, by H. Sharp, M. A., inspector 
of schooLs. Issued from the ofHce of the director-general, in India. 

Additional reports of the series already issued are No. 2, Vernacular Reading Books in tlie Bombay 
Presidency, by J. G. Covernton, M. A., educational inspector, Northern division, Bombay Presidency. 
No. 3, The Educational System of Japan, by M. H. Sharp, professor of philosophy, Elphinstone College, 
Bombay. No. 4, Furlough Studies: (i) Modern Methods of Teaching English in Germany, by J. 
Nelson Fraser; (ii) Educational Studies at the St. Louis Exposition, by H. Sharp; (iii) Physical 
Laboratoi'es in Germany, by G. W. Kiichler. 



136 EDUCATION EEPORT, 1906. 

usually of the Kayasth or writer caste, who maintains the land records, and is expected 
to make the youthful husbandmen understand how fortunate they are, sua si bona 
norint; the rest are substantial tenants, whose hard hands and weather-beaten faces 
proclaim the rigors of their honorable toil. 

A little procession is now formed, the kotwar, or village watchman, running in 
front with his spear of office; next, ourselves, and finally the panch-log, who at iirst 
answers but shyly to our questions, but at length informs us that the school is managed 
by the district council; that 50 })oys read in it and attend very regularly; that the 
master is a good man, better than the last (some voices of dissent in the background), 
who spoiled the school; that the malguzar gives great help, and is so much interested 
in education that he deserves a letter from the government informing him of the fact. 
Then would not the malguzar like a girls' school in the village, as well? Surely some 
of the inhabitants have daughters who should learn to read and wi'ite? "No, huzoor; 
for we are poor men, and such daughters as we have must learn rather to grind, and 
knead, and cook, and carry water." Meanwhile we have advanced up the little 
street, and these foes of female emancipation are released from the necessity of fur- 
ther argument by the appearance of the schoolhouse, which stands, separated from 
the village by an open playground, under the shade of a giant pipal tree. And 
l)efore the garden gate bows and scrapes the schoolmaster, clad in white pyjamas 
and turban and a black alpaca coat. 

The school building. — The school premises are ordinarily a square inclosure, the 
front half being taken up by a walled garden, the back by the house itself. The 
garden consists of plots cultivated by pupils, and containing flowers, English vege- 
tables, and experimental crops. The house is fronted by a good veranda, which 
leads into a bright, airy room. Sometimes the front wall is practically done away 
with and its place supplied by pillars or wire panels. Both house and compound 
wall are well whitewashed (by the local board). Often they are the only whitewashed 
things in the village, unless there be a police house or a cattle pound. To-day an 
arch of leaves spans the garden gate, fringing a golden "Welcome" on red cloth. A 
row of flags and flowery festoons lead thence to the veranda, where more gold let- 
tering calls down blessings on the visitors, the spelling of whose names and titles, 
even when in English, is quite curiously correct. 

Organization of the school. — Let us pass under the triumphal arch, between these 
simple, well-meant tributes and the little groups of expectant villagers, into the build- 
ing itself and see what it contains. 

A rural school in these provinces contains five classes: (1) The infant class; (2) the 
first class, diA'ided into two sections; (.3) the second class; (4) the third class, and (5) 
the fourth class, which ends the primary course with the so-called primary examina- 
tions. In a school thus divided a certified master is supposed to be able to teach 
and manage 40 boys; a monitor half that number. We were told by the committee 
that some 50 boys read in this school, hence we expect and find both a master and 
a monitor. The former has studied either in a normal school or in one of the local 
training classes, hence his general educational qualifications rise a standard or two 
al)ove the fourth class, and he has imbibed some knowledge of school method and 
management. The monitor is a lad of the village who has passed his primary exam- 
ination and shows a bent for teaching. He takes the little boys, and at the end of 
this year will V)e sent for a couple of years' training at the normal school, whence he 
will emerge a full-blown teacher. The minimum pay of a master begins at 8 rupees 
per month. He may rise to 15 rupees or even 20 rupees in a rural school, but he is often 
a pluralist — village postmaster, pound keeper, vendor of stamps and quinine — and these 
s\ibsidiary posts may swell his pay to over 20 rupees. Such appointments, together with 
the head masterships of vernacular middle schools, are the plums of the rural teacher's 
service and are kept as prizes for the most deserving. The monitor draws from 2 to 
4 rupees per month. The duties to be performed are not arduous, for rural schools 
are j)rimarily intended for "half-timers," i. e., the sons of farmers or laborers whose 
parents would object to their attending school all day. For, in the first place, they 
are required to help in light labor in the fields; and, in the second, if they do not 
early grow acciistomtHl to exposure, they will, so it is believed, be unable to face the 
midday sun in later life. Hence the half-time system has been devised, giving sucli 
lioys three hours of instruction in the morning (7 to 10 o'clock), the course compris- 
ing the "three Il's" and a minimum of geograi)liy, with such purely utilitarian sul)- 
jects as accounts and palwaris' paj)ers. Any nu'al school nuiy, however, contain 
full-timers as well (lliough they are few) — the sons of the v)alguzar, the bania, the 
■patirari, and the schoolmaster himself — who require a little mor(^ than the minimum 
knowledge, and can afford the time to return after breakfast for two hours' further 
instructiijn in agriculture and more advanced geograjjhy and arithmetic. (Pp. 3-6.) 



PUBLIC EDUCATION IN BRITISH INDIA. 137 

In closing his account of the schools, which were examined by him with the closest 
attention to every detail, Mr. Sharp submits the following considerations: 

In this connection it is first necessary to consider the limitations under which the 
department labors. These spring from various causes — the financial position, the 
conditions of an agricultural people, the pedagogic material at hand, and, lastly, the 
mental habits of the pupil. 

(o) Financial. — We have seen that the interests of primary education are safeguarded 
and that its reciuirements are met in a liberal spirit. But liberality is limited by a 
narrow exchequer and the needs of the province in other directions. The present 
estimated annual expenditure on district council schools alone (exclusive of inspec- 
tion, training, etc.) is 3,76,055 rupees. In 1901-2 the expenditure on primary boys' 
schools in British territory amounted to 3,52,159 rupees, the cost of each primary 
school to 191 rupees per annum, and the cost of educating each primary pupil to 
3-5-0 rupees. Or, including girls' schools and schools in feudatory States, we find the 
expenditure on primary institutions (urban and rural) amounted in that year to 
4.70,321 rupees, and the total expenditure upon public instruction of all sorts to 
11,10,972 rupees among a popidation of 11,873,029. If children of a school-going age 
b(> reckoned as 15 per cent of the population, this gives a total annual expenditure 
of just below 10 annas per child. If the sums spent on high and university education 
be deducted, the expenditine per h-ead will be lessened. (Were we to take 15 per 
cent of the population of England and Wales and that sum only which is expended 
on elementary education and training colleges, exclusive of administration, we should 
arrive at an expenditure of not less than £2 7s. j^er child. But such a comparison is 
hardly fruitful. ) Later figures are not available. When they are published they will 
show an improvement. This paucity of funds reacts in various ways upon rural 
education. It limits the spread of schools, since the people will not indulge their 
children to any large extent in education unless it is paid for out of public money. 
It limits the pay of schoolmasters and renders the service less attractive than it other- 
wise might be. It places modifications iipon the amount and efficiency of the special 
training which can be given. 

(b) Dae to agricultiirul conditions. — Ample allusion has already been made to the 
desirability of shortening, as far as possible, the daily hours of instruction for the children 
of the agricultural and laboring classes. The half-time system may be regarded as 
an established and wholesome principle; but it necessitates a curtailment of the cur- 
riculum and the sacrifice of the literary to the utilitarian element. The omission (in 
almost all cases) of grammar fnnn the half-time course is perhaps not to be regretted; 
but the amount of poetry learned is not by any means sufficient to cultivate a taste for 
the national literature; the long series of useful lessons in the readers render the 
volumes a trifle dull ; and the onl j' accomplishment attempted is the rather unattract- 
ive form of kindergarten drawing practiced in the lower classes. * * * 

Effects of rural education. — The aim of our rural education has now been discussed; 
it remains to consider its actual effects. In 1901, out of a popidation of nearly twelve 
millions, 327,486 persons were returned as literate. The standard taken was a some- 
what high one. Most of these had been educated in our primary schools. Two 
questions arise: What are the abilities of a half-time pui:)il at the moment when he 
leaves school? What are his ahilities, say, ten or fifteen years later? 

Preliminary consider atio7i. — The former of these ciuestions would best be answered 
by way of comparison with some known standard, such as that of an English board 
schoolboy. The answer, however, is complicated by two matters which deserve 
preliminary consideration. In the fiist place, the Hindu lad, up to the age of 17, 
is singularly precocious. He is quick at grasping a question and at thinking out the 
reply. He is not loutish like the lower-class English boy, but quiet, self-respecting, 
deferential, and well-mannered. He is endowed with much (rather superficial) 
common sense, aploml), and self-possession. In the second place, he is singularly 
unfortunate in opportunities for what might be termed unconscious education, and 
hence singularly lacking in width of view. * * * 

Condition of the pupil on leaving the school. — The rural scholar passes the primary 
examination and leaves school at an age between 10 and 14 years, or a little later. 
In handwriting and orthography he is probably, in arithmetical tallies and the 
deciphering of letters and other manuscript certainly, superior to the English (perhaps 
to any) boy of a similar age. He can read simple narrative correctly, but often with 
monotony and apparent want of understanding. Nevertheless, he does comprehend 
and can remember the meaning of lessons which have once been taken and explained 
in class. If he is given time he will probably explain an unseen lesson of equal 
difficulty; but this is not always so, and if he is hurried he will understand nothing. 
He is lamentaldy ignorant of history and of the conditions of India. If the teacher has 



138 EDUCATION REPORT, 1906. 

taken a little pains, he sings charmingly with zest and feeling; and he understands 
the difficult subject-matter of the songs. He can express the simplest ideas with great 
propriety on paper, but his ignorance of grammar prevents much progress. In work- 
ing out sums he is careful and hardly ever makes a blunder, but he is exceedingly slow, 
can work only by the precise rule shown him, and knows, of course, far less than his 
Euroi^ean equivalent. At mental problems he is quick within certain limits, but take 
him off the beaten track and he collapses. His attainments in geography are utterly 
inferior. His knowledge of common objects is far narrower, but probably more certain 
and detailed, than that of the average English boy. His acquamtance with the prin- 
ciples of land record and accounts are a thing apart. Of other knowledge he possesses 
none. 

On the whole this lad of 14 years strikes us as possessed of a coolness and an acute- 
ness equal to those of an English youth of 22, working upon an experience narrower 
than that of a child of 7. Hence there is a brilliancy but at the same time an 
artificial tone about his attainments. He is wanting in breadth of view, in versatility, 
in solidity. * * * 

Conditions in later life. — What is the mental condition of the cultivator some ten 
years after leaving school? Here we must draw a distinct line between the full-timer 
and the half-timer. Even if the former does not pursue his studies beyond the pri- 
mary stage, he probably enters a walk of life in which his knowledge will stand him 
in good stead and will be preserved by use. The half-timer passes from the school- 
room to the plow; his attainments, as we have just seen, are likely to be of a destructible 
character, and it is to be feared he too often "reels back into the beast." * * * 

The majority never, indeed, open a book, but I have found some whom their early 
education led to borrow or purchase, and seriously to study, the Ramayan. It must 
be remembered that the present generation of adults was educated under the old 
curriculum, which, being disconnected with their experience and studied through the 
medium of an almost extinct species of Hindi, was only too likely to produce a shallow 
veneer. The rural curriculum has based the pupil's studies on the objects which 
surround him. Hence his knowledge has a firmer basis in experience and a better 
chance of survival through the processes of association. It is too early to judge of the 
results. There is at least good reason to expect they will be satisfactory. A hopeful 
sign is the disapproval evinced by most patwaris and some landlords of the teachings 
of patwaris' papers. * * * 

The school has taken root as a popular institution in the better villages. The zones 
of opposition are contracting. Still, it is as yet an up-hill struggle; let us hope it is 
toward a proper goal. (Pp. 128-140.) 

The appendix to this report presents a plan for rural school premises, a model course 
of study, and a course for normal schools, including a course for the agricultural class 
in a normal school. « 

STATE TECHNICAL SCHOLARSHIPS FOR NATIVES OF INDIA. 

With a view to provide for natives of India the higher technical education which 
may qualify them to assist in promoting the improvement of existing native industries 
and the development of new industries wherever this may be possible, the govern- 
ment of India is ready as an experimental measure to give a small number of technical 
scholarships if promising candidates well qualified in some particular branch of 
industry present themselves. The outlines of the scheme are sketched out below.'!' 

Value of the scholarships. — The value of the scholarships has been fixed at £150 a 
year in addition to fees payable to the institutions where the scholars will study and 
traveling expenses, but the government will consider proposals for increasing it in 
special cases. 

Places and periods of tenure. — Each scholarship is tenable for an average period of 
two years, which may be increased or reduced in special cases. 

The scholarships may l)e held in Great Britain, on the continent of Europe, or in 
America, and are payable from the date of the scholar's arrival in the country which he 
may select for study. 

a Rural Schools in the Central Provinces, by H. Sharp, M. A., inspector of schools, pp. 141-184. 
b Resolution of the government of India on industrial schools in India, cited from the Educa- 
tional Review (Madras), Feb., 1904, p. 115. 



PUBLIC EDUCATION IN BRITISH INDIA. 139 

Subjects of study . — Law, medicine, forestry, veterinary science, agriculture, and 
engineering have been excluded from the scope of the present proposal. The scholar- 
ship's are in the first instance proposed to be used for the encouragement of the mining 
industry in Bengal, but any other branch of industry can similarly be helped and 
fostered. Industries in which native capital and enterprise are engaged, or likely to 
be engaged, and in which the trained scholar might on return to his country find scope 
for his skill and ability, will be particularly appropriate for selection. 

Conditions of award. — The scholarships are tenable by persons who are natives of 
India within the meaning of section 6 of the Statute 33 Vic, Cap. 3. A competent 
knowledge of English, or the language of any other country in which the candidate 
proposes to work and study, is essential to enable him to take full advantage of the 
course of study. 

In the matter of selection of scholars, government will be guided by considerations 
of the candidate's capacity, intelligence, particular interests in and connection with 
the industry selected, and the assurance that he will continue to devote himself to 
the subject on his return to India, These being matters which can not be decided 
by the holding of degrees obtained, by examination, or by competition, no special 
examination is considered necessary and none will be held. But a scholar before 
nomination should have received the best technical education available in the prov- 
ince, in the particular industry which he has to study, and no candidate will be con- 
sidered qualified unless he has displayed an aptitude for technical study. 

No age limit has been fixed, but it may be fixed by government in certain cases. 

The candidates for scholarships will be called upon to submit certificates attesting 
(a) their moral character, (h) the knowledge of the language of the country in which 
they elect to study, and (c) physical capacity from recognized persons who may be 
considered fit to certify to these facts. 

The scholars in England or elsewhere, as the case may be, will be under the control 
and supervision of the secretary of state. The conditions under which they will 
hold the scholarships will be similar to those laid down for the government of India 
scholarships, and power will be retained to cancel a scholarship and to send the 
scholar back to India, if his progress and conduct be not satisfactory. 

Returned scholars. — No scholar will be Iwund on his return to India by any engage- 
ment to serve government or a private firm, and the choice of his career will be in 
the first instance determined, on his return from Europe, by his own inclination. 
Should any occasion arise, government will be glad to turn his ability and increased 
knowledge to account as teacher in an industrial school or in other capacities con- 
nected with the improvement of local industries. 

Applications for one or more of such scholarships, for the development of the mining 
industry in the first instance, should be made direct to the director of public instruc- 
tion. Full particulars should be furnished as to the past educational experience, 
training, and future requirements of each applicant for a scholarship. Applicants 
should also indicate, if possible, what they wish to work at in their future careers on 
return to India. The scholarships will be awarded by the government of India on 
the recommendation of the local government. 

SCHOOLS OF AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY. 

In view of the great importance of agricultural education in a country where two- 
thirds of the population depend for their livelihood on the product of the soil, the 
government of India announced in the resolution of March, 1904, the intention of 
establishing an "Imperial agricultural college," in connection with an experimental 
farm and research laboratory, to be carried on under the direction of the inspector- 
general of agriculture. In addition to shorter courses for students intended for the 
lower grade of official positions, the scheme for the college included courses of instruc- 



140 EDUCATION EEPORT, 1906. 

lion extending through live years, and intended to qualify men to fill posts in the 
department of agriculture itself, such as those of assistant directors, research experts, 
superintendents of farms, professors, teachers, and managers of court of wards and 
encumbered estates. This college would serve as a higher institution in which stu- 
dents who had finished the somewhat meager courses in agriculture in the provincial 
colleges, might complete their special studies; through this relation the Imperial Col- 
lege might be expected to gradually raise the standard of efiiciency in the lower grade 
colleges. 

It is interesting to note in this connection the measures already adopted by the 
government for the preservation and care of the Indian forests. The State forests 
which are under the control of the forest department extended in the year 1901-2 
over about 217,500 square miles; out of this total over 89,000 square miles were "re- 
served " and open to systematic conservancy. The reserved area was greatest in the 
Central Provinces, Burma, Madras, and Bombay, in the order named. The forest 
schools have been established and are maintained mainly for the training of officers 
and subordinates of the forest department of the State. 

The Imperial Forest School at Dehra Dun was founded in the year 1878. The 
school has six lecture rooms, a library, a museum, a herbarium, a laboratory, a resin 
distillery, an apparatus for the extraction of tannin, a carpenter's workshop, quarters 
for 80 students, a hospital, a fruit garden, a tree park, and a nursery and plantation. 
The school is under the administrative control of the inspector-general of forests, who 
is assisted by a board of control of forest and educational officers. The superior staff 
of the school consists of a director, a deputy director, two instructors, a vernacular 
instructor, and an assistant instructor. They are all members of the forest depart- 
ment, and they are assisted by forest officers of the local circle and others. The con- 
servator of the circle is ordinarily the director of the school. 

The school is divided into two classes. The upper class reads in English for the 
higher standard or ranger's certificate, and the lower class reads in Hindustani for the 
lower standard or forester's certificate. The maximum annual number of admissions 
is usually 40 in the upper and 10 in the lower class. There are three categories of 
.students in each class: (a) Private students, (b) students in government service, and 
(c) students deputed by native states. Private students must be between the ages of 
18 and 25 at the time of admission; those for the upper class must pass an entrance 
examination in English and elementary mathematics; and those for the lower class 
must have passed the middle school examination, and must also possess a competent 
knowledge of Hindustani. 

The course of instruction in each class extends over two years, and the subjects are 
as follows: 

1. Forestry. 

2. Mathematics. 

3. Physical science. 

4. Botany. 

5. Zoology. 

6. Drawing, surveying, and estimating, as required for forest officers. 

7. Forest engineering, theoretical and practical. 

8. Forest law, the elements of criminal law, and departmental organization. 

9. Forest accounts and procedure. 

Practical training is given both at the college and in the forest, and a considerable 
part of each year is spent in camp. 



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